What to Schedule During Your Couple’s Retreat

What to Schedule During Your Couple’s Retreat

What to Schedule During Your Couple’s Retreat

My husband, dog Harper, and myself had an opportunity to visit and explore Asheville last weekend. It was awesome. I can see why people love it and talk about it here in Raleigh and Triangle area all the time. It’s such a quant and beautiful place, and so so so dog friendly. In fact, you look kinda weird if you don’t have a dog with you there because everyone has some kind of a pet. I was surprised to see how many water bowls were outside for dogs to stay hydrated, which helped a lot because it’s gotten hot the last day we were there.

We have decided to not stay at the hotel this time, and instead rent a cabin in the mountains about 20 min from downtown. It was a perfect middle between a hotel and camping. We had access to fully equipped kitchen, garden, and a bon fire area, which had a delightful benefit to itself-an opportunity to meet and get to know fellow travelers, which I absolutely loved. On top of eating fresh omelette in the morning from the chickens hanging around us, we had a stunning view of the mountains and sunrise each morning. It was perfect. You can see on the picture that Harper also didn’t complain:)

And since we just had an opportunity for a beautiful getaway ourselves and my mind is fresh on what worked and what didn’t work for us in regards to scheduling different activities, this week’s topic is just perfect because I got lots of great insights.

Let’s dive in. Here is a list of ideas that you can play with and see what suits your and your partner’s lifestyles best. As a reminder, these activities are most suitable for the 2 day or a weekend type of a couples retreat. The 1 day retreat we’d discussed in previous week is mostly spent on the therapy intensive itself, and the only thing you might want to do after 6 hours of intense work is either sleep or… well more sleep. That’s what my couples shared with me afterwards nevertheless.

Sleeping in

I don’t know about you guys, but we love to sleep in. I personally do best with 9-10 of sleep, which might seem like a lot to some people. I feel energized and refreshed after a great night of sleep and can move mountains the next day. My husband is very similar. If sleep is something you love as much as we do, make sure to plan for it. Do not schedule anything too early in the morning or too late at night. Protect your sleep because it plays a huge role in your health and overall well being. On the other side, if you are an early riser, you want to make sure to schedule some meaningful activity for yourself during that time. Maybe take a nature walk, do a meditation, or read a book that you enjoy. Oh, and do not forget about naps because those ones are the best.

Quite Time

We are constantly bombarded with lots and lots and lots of information and our brains are overestimated and exhausted. Our phones cause us constant stress with it’s numerous never ending notifications and such. Do yourself a favor and turn your stupid phone off! It will allow you to be fully present in each moment with your partner, and even though you might have withdrawals for the first couple of hours, you will survive. I promise!

So make sure you schedule some quite time for yourselves. Again, it may include different things like meditation, walk, reading, or it may include nothing at all. Or you may choose to play by ear to see what feels right for you in the moment.

Another important moment is to not over schedule your weekend. If you travel as much as I do, you may be used to scheduling every minute of your trip because of the fear of missing out. Especially if your trip is overseas and you want to make sure to see as much as you can. This is not that type of vacation. Relax, breath, and roll with the experience. Listen to your intuition.

Couples Massage

Couples massage is amazing and it got a much higher relaxation value than dinner and movie while taking care of your body and mind. Some things to consider before heading to the spa is decide what kind of massage experience you are looking for. Are you looking for something light and relaxing or are you more of a deep tissue kinda person like I am? My husband did not grow up with massages like I did and he loves gentle touch, so that he can fall asleep. On the contrary, I love hard massage and have high expectations for it because of my previous experiences.

Finally, do not rush out of the massage room and instead take your time. Use these 5-10min to reconnect with your partner and bond over this experience.

If you are taking my 2 day couples retreat, I will take care of everything for you ahead of time and schedule your couples massage at the preferred time. All you will have to do is to just show up and enjoy yourselves:)

Connect with Nature

Nature has something magical and refreshing about itself and I love incorporating nature in my vacations and staycations. And we are super lucky to live in Raleigh that has toms parks and greenery everywhere. In fact, I think of Raleigh as a city placed inside a forest, with all of it’s beautiful pine trees surrounding us. So there is a good chance you will have some kind of park nearby wherever you decide to stay for your couples retreat. Again, if you decide to participate in my 2 day private couples retreat in Raleigh, your lodging and everything else will be taken care for you.

Integrated Couples Intensive

Many couples benefit greatly from having an expert helping them to navigate their relationship so that they can achieve their goals and feel truly loved and connected to their partner. They understand what they need help with, but they are not sure how to get there. They have tried many different things in the past and the results either do not work or do not last.

This is when an integrated couples intensive might be the perfect solution. For example, I visit my couples at their hotel suit and do the therapy intensive right then and there. I bring everything I need with me and when I live, they don’t need to commute back to the hotel from my office. They can relax and reflect on their experiences. Easy peasy.

There you have it. I hope it was helpful to learn about what to schedule and pay attention to during your couples retreat or staycation.

If you are interested to learn about some interesting ideas for couples retreats in Raleigh and the Triangle Area, stay tuned and make sure to check out my next week’s blog post.

I hope this information helps you understand more about couples retreats and what kind of couples can benefit from it. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to give me a call at (703)-347- 3200 and schedule an appointment in my Wake Forest office.

If you are looking for help with your relationships or marriage, you can read more about how I can help here. Please do not wait several years before you seek couples counseling.

You deserve to be happy today!

ABOUT AUTHOR

Irina Baechle,LCSW is a founder, owner, and a licensed therapist at IrinaBaechleCounselingLLC. She specializes in helping distant couples and anxious singles build truly connected and meaningful relationships. She currently offers online and in-home counseling services to residents of Virginia and North Carolina (and most countries abroad). Click here to schedule your free 15 min consultation. Follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Youtube for useful tips and resources.

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